Irony abounds in this story, as it does in so many of the stories in John’s Gospel. Those who view and understand the world literally do not always fare well with an ironical Jesus and an ironical Gospel. Irony presupposes a distinction between appearance and reality. What appears to be true is indeed true, but it is only a partial truth and not the full truth. Because of this distinction between appearance and reality, irony often takes the form of either humor or tragedy—or both.1 The Samaritan